Managers from Western cultures tend to assume that efficiency and profitability will drive the adoption of new technologies by multinational conglomerates. The present study shows that for non-Western organizations, the sector that the organization operates in (public or private) and its decision-making style are also relevant factors. The research employs the diffusion of innovation model to explore Internet adoption by public relations professionals in Saudi Arabian organizations. A survey of 354 public relations professionals revealed that 93% of the professionals in the private sector had adopted the Internet, compared to 83% of their counterparts in the public sector. Professionals in the private sector ascribed relative advantage as critical for adoption. Regression analyses revealed that authoritarian decision making and organizational encouragement were predictors of adoption.
Abdul-Gader, A.H., & Kozar, K.A. ( 1995). The impact of computer alienation on information technology investment decisions: An explanatory cross-national analysis. MIS Quarterly, 19, 553-559.
2.
Al-Farsy, F. ( 2000). Modernity and tradition: The Saudi equation. London: Knight Communications.
3.
Alkhulaifi, K. ( 1997). Public relations in Kuwait: A comparison study between private and governmental sectors. Unpublished master’s thesis , Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.
4.
Al-Lehaibi, M. ( 2001). Faculty adoption of Internet technology in Saudi Arabian universities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
5.
Al-Najran, T. ( 1998). Internet adoption and use by Kuwait university students: New medium, same old gratifications (Diffusion of Innovation). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, Columbus.
6.
Al-Tarah, K. ( 1995, December). Dawer at elaqat at umah wal clam fee muasasat al Estethmar [The role of public relations and the media in investment institutions] . Paper presented at Kuwait University’s First Public Relations Conference, Kuwait City.
7.
Anderson, J. ( 2000). Producers and Middle East Internet technology: Getting beyond Impacts. Middle East Journal, 54, 419-431.
8.
Bransford, L.A. ( 1988). Communications technology and the public sector: Understanding the process of adoption. Telematics and Informatics , 5, 431-435.
9.
Busselle, R., Reagan, J., Pinkleton, B., & Jackson, K. ( 1999). Factors affecting Internet use in a saturated-access population. Telematics and Informatics, 16, 45-58.
10.
CIA: The World Factbook. (2008). Available from http://www.cia.gov/
11.
Gbomita, V. ( 1997). The adoption of microcomputers for instruction: Implications for emerging instructional media implementation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 28, 87-101.
12.
Henrichs, R. ( 1995). Factors that impact consumer adoption of innovative technological services over time: The case of Internet. Doctoral dissertation, Golden Gate University, San Francisco . (UMI No. 9539934)
13.
Hernandez, M., & Mazzon, J. ( 2007). Adoption of Internet banking: Proposition and implementation of an integrated methodology approach. International Journal of Bank Management, 25(2), 72-88.
14.
Hetaland, P. ( 1999). The Internet in Norway dissemination and use. Nordic Research on Media and Communication, 20, 33-44.
15.
Hofstede, G. ( 1991). Culture and organizations: Software of the mind . London: McGraw-Hill.
16.
Hornik, R. ( 2004). Some reflections on diffusion theory and the role of Everett Rogers. Journal of Health Communication, 9, 143-148.
17.
International Telecommunication Union: Telecommunication and Development Bureau. (2000). Internet for the Arab world. Preparatory meeting of the Arab region for the world telecommunication development conference in Alexandria, Egypt. Retrieved January 1, 2005, from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/papers/egypt2000/15-e.pdf
18.
Ramdani, B., Kawalek, P., & Lorenzo, O. ( 2009). Predicting SMEs’ adoption of enterprise systems . Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 22(1/2), 10-24.
19.
Rogers, E. ( 2003). Diffusion of innovations. New York : Free Press.
20.
Soliman, K., & Janz, B. ( 2004). An exploratory study to identify the critical factors affecting the decision to establish Internet-based interorganizational information systems. Information & Management, 41, 697-706.
21.
Stevens, P.M., Williams, K.P., & Smith, M.C. ( 2000). Organizational communication and information process in an Internet-enabled environment. Psychology & Marketing , 17, 607-632.
22.
To, M., & Ngai, E. ( 2006). Predicting the organizational adoption of B2C e-commerce: An empirical study. Industrial Management & Data Systems , 106, 1133-1147.
23.
Tung, L., & Rieck, O. ( 2005). Adoption of electronic government services among business organizations in Singapore. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 14, 417-440.
24.
Vorvoreanu, M. ( 2008). Web site public relations: How corporations build and maintain relationships on line. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press.
